Megliola: Locals Colabello, Freiman are back in the bigs

Two local players, Chris Colabello (Milford) and Nate Freiman (Wellesley) got promoted this week from Triple A to the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics, respectively.

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By Lenny MegliolaSpecial to the News

Milford Daily News

By Lenny MegliolaSpecial to the News

Posted Jul. 4, 2014 at 6:01 PM
Updated Jul 4, 2014 at 6:03 PM

By Lenny MegliolaSpecial to the News

Posted Jul. 4, 2014 at 6:01 PM
Updated Jul 4, 2014 at 6:03 PM

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From the Rolodex of the mind …

Two local players, Chris Colabello (Milford) and Nate Freiman (Wellesley) got promoted this week from Triple A to the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics, respectively. Also, Casey Coleman, whose dad Joe Coleman Jr. went right from John Carroll's Natick High team to the big leagues in 1965, was recalled by the Kansas City Royals to bolster their bullpen.

The Framingham-born Colabello, a DH, first baseman and outfielder, was with the Twins at the start of the season and got off to a terrific start. But the strikeouts piled up, his average sunk to .232 and he was sent to Rochester of the International League where he was hitting .275 with six homers. A spot on the Twins roster opened for Colabello when Joe Mauer went on the DL.

Freiman played four years at Duke and had some success with the A's last season, most memorably a walk-off single against Mariano Rivera in the 18th inning. He started this season at Triple A Sacramento, but made an immediate impact after he was called up by belting a three-homer in his first game to beat the Miami Marlins 4-3.

Guess who helped Freiman get back to The Show? Rickey Henderson. The Hall-of-Famer works with Oakland's minor league hitters. Freiman was hitting just .204 at Sacramento. Henderson suggested that Freiman stand taller at the plate, which at first glance seemed weird since, at 6-foot-8, Freiman is the tallest position player ever in the big league.

But Henderson's tip worked. Freiman hit over .300 after making the adjustment and now he's back in the bigs.

Coleman, 27, pitched for the Cubs prior to being signed by the Royals. He's had success in the minors (42-25, 3.64) but is just 7-13, with a 5.57 ERA in the majors.

Coleman's dad was 142-135 in 15 big-league seasons. After a brilliant career at Natick High he was signed by the Washington Senators — the No. 3 pick in the amateur draft — and was the youngest player in the majors that season. Coleman famously didn't get along with the manager, a fella named Ted Williams.

Pitching for the Detroit Tigers later in his career, Coleman struck out 14 hitters in an ALCS game, which was a series record at the time. Coleman's dad — Joe Sr. — had a big-league record of 52-76, mostly with the Philadelphia A's.

- Who's flying all over the place without really landing anywhere? LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love. Please guys, make up your minds. I still think that Framingham's David Blatt, the new Cleveland Cavaliers' coach, will be calling plays for LeBron some day soon. Yes, LeBron will be returning his talents to Cleveland.

- Strange to see a Houston Astro leading the American League in hitting. But second baseman Jose Altuve is no fluke. He also leads in hits and stolen bases, outdistancing Jacoby Ellsbury by a wide margin (37-23 going into Friday's games). Altuve is only second to Miguel Cabrera in doubles.

Page 2 of 2 - And his name never comes up. Maybe in Houston.

- Alfredo Aceves probably wrote his ticket out of baseball this time. The ex-Red Sox temper tantrum waiting to happen, as a second-time drug offender, got slapped with a 50-game suspension while pitching for the New York Yankees' Triple-A farm club Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Aceves can ride that train to the end of the line. He was 1-2 with a 6.52 with the Yankees.

- The Celtics need some pop to make us care again. It's tough being off the radar screen two straight years. You can only sell the future for so long. Interesting backcourt trio: Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart. Don't know about you, but Bradley's new deal — $32 million, four years — knocked my eye out. I'm thinking Danny Ainge eventually winds up trading Rondo.

- Buyers or sellers, that's the question as the trading deadline nears. Do the Red Sox dare trade Jon Lester and/or Koji Uehara? Not out of the question. Do they do something small, like changing the address of Jonny Gomes, Jake Peavy, A.J. Pierzynski, Will Middlebrooks, Daniel Nava? It's all on the table.

This seems likely. If the Red Sox just ride the season out, and they're 11 or so games out in a couple of weeks, expect to get a dose of Deven Marrero, Allen Webster, Anthony Ranaudo, Christian Vazquez and Garin Cecchini.